Pulse of The People: Voter fraud didn't have to happen

I have been following this case with great interest for the last three years. I have sat in the court house listening to testimony from all the political operatives and victims. When I could not get to the court I read and followed the case through the newspaper. Being a World War II veteran and knowing our soldiers are dying every day fighting for democracy, I am appalled that the Rensselaer County Board of Elections commissioners have been derelict in their duty to protect the integrity of the voters in Rensselaer County.

- Case in point 1: One hour before the deadline 50 absentee ballots are discovered for Working Families Party primary, where a total of 120 voters voted, that percentage is so outlandish that the commissioners should have immediately reviewed the absentee ballot applications, voter registration card and ballots to see if the addresses and signatures were one and the same. If either Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee and/or Democratic Commissioner McDonough had reviewed the applications and ballots, they would have discovered the forgeries in 20 minutes. They could have started an internal review to see who processed an application whereby the signatures or addresses were not the one in same. At this point they could have agreed not to count those ballots, and let someone challenge their decision with a court order. Learning all of this through the testimony of the victims and the political operatives voter fraud would never have happened without the help of someone inside the Board of Elections.

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- Case in point 2: Enter Bob Mirch, he is informed by Bugbee of the unusually large number of ballots for the WFP. Immediately Mirch goes into action doing the job that Bugbee failed to do and that is to protect the integrity of the voters. Lo and behold after knocking on the victim's door and getting an order to show cause to stop the ballots from being opened Judge Michael Lynch then ordered the commissioners not to open those ballots and declared they were forged. Lynch then ordered the District Attorney to find the perpetrators. Because of Mirch's actions there have been four guilty pleas, the current case of Commissioner Ed McDonough and two more cases yet to be tried. I personally do not know Bob Mirch and I have read many times how he has been vilified, when in fact he should have been considered a hero.

- Case in point 3. The tipping point for me writing this letter is when I read Republican worker Bonnie Becker testified she has been working in the board of elections for 22 years and has never seen fraud. How about 2009? Wasn't she the one that brought the 50 ballots to the attention of Bugbee because she believed that fraud was taking place? Democrat worker Mary Sweeney testified she returned one of the ballots not signed back to Sara Couch. How about the other 29 forged ballots?

Then there is Kevin O'Malley who is vilified by his co-workers for testifying for the prosecution to tell the truth.

- Case in point 4. The cost of the voter fraud case to the taxpayers could have been avoided if the commissioners at the Board of Elections were diligent in upholding their duties and responsibilities which and clearly laid out to them in the New York State Election Law, maybe the commissioners need to read the laws. Hopefully at the conclusion of this trial the Rensselaer County Legislature will reconsider their appointments of both commissioners and replace them with more ethical people.